Flexible container liner wringing device and liner

ABSTRACT

A liner (L) has a liner body ( 11 ) with a front wall ( 12 ), rear wall ( 16 ), bottom wall ( 13 ), a top wall ( 14 ). The top wall also includes a tubular excess liner material or chute ( 19 ) located close to the rear wall and which includes a filling fitment ( 20 ) with a fitment cap ( 21 ). The liner also has a inlet/outlet port or bottom fitment ( 23 ). The liner may include a gap-filler or filler strip ( 70 ) of foam material extending outwardly from a position closely adjacent the outlet fitment. The chute or filling fitment is positioned on the top wall closely adjacent the rear wall and diagonally opposite the bottom fitment to provide a generally equal run of material in either direction between the top fitment and the bottom fitment.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Applicant claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 62/293,599 filed Feb. 10, 2016.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to bulk container liners which utilize devices toextract the material contents from the liner through the wringing of theliner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flexible liners are oftentimes utilized in conjunction with anintermediate bulk containers which are typically 42 to inches is length,width and height, to ship large quantities of liquid, viscous orgranular products. A problem long associated with the use of such linershas been the complete or near-complete evacuation of the contents fromwithin the liner. As such, some liners have utilized pressurized regionsto lift or angle the bottom of the liner or to move the interiorsidewalls inwardly so as to move the contents closer to the outlet ofthe liner. While these devices have aided in the evacuation of the linerthey can still result in rather large quantities of content remainingwithin the liner. This type of container also requires the use ofadditional pressurizing equipment to pressurize the inflatable regions.

Liners have also been designed with only a centrally located top fitmentso that a vacuum hose head may be positioned within the top fitment tovacuum out the contents of the liner. A problem associated with thistype of liner has been that as the contents are evacuated the linermaterial oftentimes folds and contacts another portion of the liner,thereby blocking the evacuation path. A similar problem also occurs withliners having bottom fitments which may get blocked by folded orgathered liner material. As such, an unacceptable amount of contentmaterial may again remain within the liner.

Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a device to aid with amore efficient evacuation the liner's contents, especially those usedwith intermediate bulk containers and a liner which works in conjunctionwith such as device. It is to the provision of such therefore that thepresent invention is primarily directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A liner for use with an intermediate bulk material container whichcomprises a liner body having a top wall, a bottom wall, and a frontwall, a rear wall opposite the front wall, and two oppositely disposedend walls. The front wall, rear wall and end walls extend between thetop wall and the bottom wall. The liner also includes an outlet fitmentcoupled to the front wall closely adjacent the bottom wall and distallythe top wall, and an inlet coupled to the top wall closely adjacent therear wall and distally the front wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liner wringing device embodyingprinciples of the invention in a preferred form, shown coupled to aliner and liner container.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the liner wringing device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the liner wringing device of FIG. 1,shown with a top portion of the housing removed.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the liner wringing device of FIG. 1, shown witha top portion of the housing removed.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the liner wringing device of FIG. 1, shown in aseparated configuration.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the liner wringing device of FIG. 1shown partially emptied and fully emptied in phantom lines.

FIGS. 7-10 are a series of view of a liner within a container beingemptied by a wringing device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the liner shown in FIGS. 7-10.

FIG. 12 is a front end view of the liner of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is perspective view of the liner in another preferredembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a top view of the liner of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view of the liner of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference next to the drawings, there is shown a flexible containerliner wringing device 10 embodying principles of the invention in apreferred form. The wringing device 10 is configured to be used inconjunction with a flexible container or liner L positioned within acontainer C, which is preferably in the form of a rigid intermediatebulk container but which may also be in the form of a flexible bag or asemi-rigid container.

The liner L has a liner body 11 with a front wall 12, rear wall 16,bottom wall 13, a top wall 14 and end or side walls 15, however, thefront wall, rear wall and end walls may be considered to be one tubularside wall in the form of four peripheral side walls extending betweenthe bottom wall and top wall so as to define a generally box shapeconfiguration. The top wall 14 also includes a tubular excess linermaterial or chute 19 located closely adjacent the rear wall 16 and whichincludes a tubular filling fitment 20 with a fitment cap 21. The liner Lalso has a cylindrical, tubular, hose content inlet/outlet port orbottom fitment 23, having a fitment cap 24, which extends through theliner bottom wall 13 or side wall 15 adjacent the bottom wall. A vacuumhose VH may be coupled to the bottom fitment in fluid communication withthe interior space of the liner to aid in the extraction of the materialwithin the liner.

The liner's box shape can be described generally as a rectangular prism,although it should be understood that due to the nature of flexiblematerials the walls follow the shape of the container. Furthermore,flexibility of the plastic material enables the walls to collapse duringdispensing without interference. The liner body may be made of a plasticsheet or film material such as a polyethylene film.

The wringing device 10 includes an exterior shell or housing 30 having abottom half 31 and a top half 32 which define an internal cavity orcompartment 39 which houses the internal mechanical components of thewringing device 10. The housing is also divided between a motor portion34 and a handle portion 35 which are removably coupled to each otherthough a pair of latches 36 which enable the motor portion 34 to bemoved away from or separated from the handle portion. The housing motorportion 34 forms a handle 38. The housing 30 also defines a centralliner compression hole, pathway or channel 40 partially defined by boththe motor portion and the handle portion through which the liner passesduring initial use of the wringing device 10. The housing 30 has a metalbottom support plate 42, which may be considered part of the housing andcentral liner compression channel 40, coupled to the housing bottom half31 for mounting the mechanical components described hereinafter. Thebottom support plate is also divided into a motor portion associatedwith the motor portion of the housing and a handle portion associatedwith the handle portion of the housing. The bottom support plateincludes a substantially enclosed central opening 43 aligned along thecentral channel 40.

The wringing device 10 internal mechanical components are utilized todraw the liner L through the wringing device 10 thereby forcing thematerial or contents within the liner towards the bottom of the liner,or more precisely, to move the wringing device downwardly along theemptied or wrung portion of the liner as the material is extracted,thereby maintaining the material within the bottom portion of the liner.The mechanical components include a drive assembly 44 formed by fourelastomeric rollers 45, such as neoprene rollers, positioned so that theouter or peripheral contact surfaces 50 of the rollers are alignedgenerally vertically to and tangentially with, adjacent to, or along thecentral channel 40, i.e., the four rollers are each positioned so thatthe outer circumference or contact surface 50 of the roller isvertically positioned along the central channel 40 so that they eachcontact and engage a portion of the liner as it passes through thecentral pathway. The four rollers 45 are oriented in a cross or + shapedconfiguration so that both pairs of oppositely disposed rollers squeezethe liner there between, which prevents the material from being squeezedsideways within the liner thereby avoiding being squeezed downwardly. Inother words, the first roller is generally axially parallel to theoppositely disposed third roller, while the second roller is generallyaxially parallel to the oppositely disposed fourth roller, with thefirst and third rollers being generally axially perpendicular to thesecond and fourth rollers. Opposite pairs of rollers may be consideredto be pairs of generally axially parallel aligned rollers. The termaxially parallel and axially perpendicular is intended to mean analignment with reference to an imaginary line extending along the axisof the roller or generally along the drive shaft/axle supporting theroller.

The four rollers 45 consist of a first roller 46, a second roller 47, athird roller 48 and a fourth roller 49. The first roller 46 is mountedto a first drive shaft/axle 51 which also includes a first bevel gear 52and a second bevel gear 53. The first drive shaft/axle 51 is mounted tothe bottom support plate 42 through a first roller support block 55 anda second roller support block 56, through which the first driveshaft/axle 51 is journalled. The end of the first drive shaft/axle 51 iscoupled to a pneumatic air gear motor 57 which rotatably drives thefirst drive shaft/axle 51. The pneumatic air gear motor 57 is coupled toa source of pressurized air through a pressure line 58 and pressureregulator 59. The pneumatic air gear motor 57 may be a Ingersoll-Randmodel number #41007RVR188BR6 with a starting torque of 76.5 lg/ft, astall torque of 102 lb/ft, a speed max power of 47 rpm, and a max airconsumption of 33 scfm.

The second roller 47 is mounted to a second drive shaft/axle 61 whichalso includes a third bevel gear 62 and a fourth bevel gear 63 and isrotatably coupled to a third roller shaft support block 64. The thirdbevel gear 62 is configured to mesh with the first bevel gear 52 of thefirst drive shaft/axle 51 so that rotation of the first bevel gear 52drives the rotation of the third bevel gear 62, which in turn rotatesthe fourth bevel gear 63, the second drive shaft 61, and the associatedsecond roller 47.

The third roller 48 is mounted to a third drive shaft/axle 66 which alsoincludes a fifth bevel gear 67 and is rotatably coupled to a fourthroller shaft support block 68 and the first roller shaft support block55. The fifth bevel gear 67 is configured to mesh with the fourth bevelgear 63 so that rotation of the fourth bevel gear 63 drives the rotationof the fifth bevel gear 67, which in turn drives the rotation of thethird drive shaft 66 and the associated third roller 48.

The fourth roller 49 is mounted to a fourth drive shaft/axle 70 whichalso includes a sixth bevel gear 71 and is rotatably coupled to thesecond and fourth roller shaft support blocks 56 and 68. The sixth bevelgear 71 is configured to mesh with the second bevel gear 53 so thatrotation of the second bevel gear 53 drives the rotation of the sixthbevel gear 71, which in turn drives the rotation of the fourth driveshaft/axle 70 and the associated fourth roller 49.

Thus, the first, second, third and fourth drive shafts are linkedtogether for simultaneous rotational movement through their respectivebevel gears with rotation of the first drive shaft which is forcibledriven through the actuation of the pneumatic air gear motor 57. Thissimultaneous rotation of the four drive shafts transfers or translatesto similar simultaneous rotational movement of the four rollers 45coupled to the drive shafts. The placement and configuration of thebevel gears enables each of the four rollers 45 to rotate at the samespeed in an upward direction (synchronic motion) at a locationtangential to the central channel 40.

It should be understood that one of more of the drive shafts may becoupled to an in-line latching mechanism, such as latches 36, which whenopened disengages and moves one of the drive shafts or rollers outwardlyto facilitate the passage of the top filling fitment 20 and chute 19through the central channel 40 during initial placement of the linerthrough the wringing device 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the in-line latchingmechanism is preferably associated with and for movement of the fourthdrive shaft/axle 70 as the second and fourth support blocks, 56 and 68respectively, associated with the fourth drive shaft/axle 70 are mountedto the bottom support plate of the handle portion 35 so that thesesupport blocks may slide along the extended length of the first andthird drive shaft/axles shown in the drawings. As a safety measure, thein-line latching mechanism may prevent the airline to the air gear motor57 from being attached when in an unlatched position.

The wringing device 10 also includes four curved guide or glide blocks73, each of which is positioned between and adjacent to each pair ofadjacent rollers. The ends of the glide blocks 73 are positioned closeto the roller to aid in ensuring proper alignment of the roller and toprevent the gathering of the liner between adjacent rollers during use.

In use, the chute or liner spout 19 and top filling fitment 20 arepassed through the central channel 40 of the wringing device 10 untilthe wringing device 10 rests upon the top wall 14 of the liner, as shownin FIG. 1. The housing latches 36 may be unlatched to allow limitedseparation between the motor portion 34 and the handle portion 35 toallow the fourth drive shaft/axle to be moved to increase the size ofthe central liner compression channel 40 and opening during initialmounting of the liner, as shown in FIG. 5, i.e., the fourth roller andfourth drive shaft axle is movable between a first portion close to theopening and fully closed central liner compression channel and a secondposition distal the opening and fully closed central compressionchannel. The motor portion and handle portion are returned to theirlatched position once the liner is properly positioned but prior toactuation of the air gear motor 57. The compressed air is then providedto the pneumatic air gear motor 57 through pressure line 58 andregulator 59, the wringing device 10 is thus turned on when thepressurized air is supplied to the air gear motor. With the actuation ofthe wringing device 10 the air gear motor 57 rotates the first driveshaft/axle 51, which through the meshing of bevel gears causes themutual rotation of the second, third, and fourth drive shafts/axles 61,66, and 70. The rotation of the four drive shafts, in turn, results inthe simultaneous rotation of the four rollers 46, 47, 48 and 49 in anupward direction tangentially along the central channel and against theliner therein. The rotation of the rollers causes the liner to befrictionally engaged by the rollers so that it is pulled upwardlythrough the central liner compression channel 40, thereby driving thewringing device 10 downwardly against the filled portion of the liner,as shown in FIG. 6 which illustrates a liner which is approximately halfevacuated. The downward movement of the device causes the liner to beforced against the confining central liner compression channel 40thereby squeezing the liner and forcing the liner content downwardly asthe device moves along the length (height) of the liner, i.e., thecentral liner compression channel squeezes or wrings the liner as itpasses therethrough. Because of the confined space of the centralchannel and the squeezing action of the rollers upon the liner as itpasses between the rollers, the material within the liner approachingthe wringing device 10 is forced downwardly along the un-wrung portionof the liner resulting in the near complete evacuation of material fromthe wrung portion, as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 6.

Should the wringing device 10 sense or fail to overcome a predeterminedlevel of resistance or pulling of the liner, the air gear motorautomatically deactivates or stalls to stop the rotation of the rollers.This stalling may occur when the evacuation of the liner contents ceasesor slows to a certain level for any reason. This may be accomplishedthrough the regulation of the air pressure level supplied to the airgear motor, as the air gear motor simply provides a select amount oftorque upon the rollers commensurate with the air pressure supplied toit, i.e., when the resistance provide by the liner upon the rollersreaches a certain level which cannot overcome the roller torque the airgear motor simply stops or stalls until the liner tension on the rollersreaches a level below the roller torque level of the air gear motor andthe roller rotation resumes. The liner tension reduces as material isdischarged from the liner through the bottom fitment 23 and the linerthereby loosens or relaxes.

As the contents of the liner are expelled through the bottom fitment 23,either by gravity or by a vacuum, the wringing device 10 continuallydraws the excess liner through the central liner compression channel 40through rotation of the four rollers. The gathering and compression ofthe liner through the central liner compression channel and the fourdirection gathering and compressing or squeezing action of the fourrollers upon the liner passing through the central channel 40 ensures anear complete evacuation of the liner as any residual material clingingto the liner is forced downward as it approaches the four rollers. Oncethe wringing device has reached the end of the liner, the liner may passcompletely through the central channel or the latch is opened and theroller drive shaft disengaged to allow the liner to pass completelythrough the central channel. Once the liner passes completely throughthe wringing device 10 very little material should remain within theliner as the material has been pushed downwardly and through the bottomfitment.

As an alternative, the liner may be voided of all but the last residualmaterial prior to activating the wringing device. This delay inactuation of the device also decreases the pressure at which the motoroperates as it does not have to expel the material to such a largedegree.

It should be understood that the just described wringing device 10provides for a device which is easily portable and removable so that itmay be moved between different devices easily and quickly.

It should be understood that the term central, as in central orcompression channel, is not intended to denote an exact location in thecenter and is instead intended to denote a channel that is locatedwithin the confines of a periphery. Also, it should be understood thatthe central channel and/or central opening 43 are consideredsubstantially “enclosed” as they do not include a gap which is largeenough for a portion of the liner to become entrapped within the gap. Assuch, even though the support plate and housing are actually divided,the openings or channels therein are considered to be substantiallyenclosed.

It should also be understood that the numeric terms used herein, such asfirst, second, third, etc., are intended for reference to the drawingsand may not represent the exact same elements numerically contained orenumerated within the claims.

It should be noted that the liner may be made of a material having asomewhat tacky exterior surface, such as from a film of metalloceneresin, to maximize the gripping effect or pulling on the rollers uponthe liner. The liner may also be made of different thicknesses ofmaterial. For example, the front wall 12, bottom wall 13, top wall 14and back wall may be made of a 4 mil, 2 ply material while the sidewalls 15 are made of a 3.2 mil, 2 ply material. The difference in thewall thicknesses aid in maintaining a constant pull of the liner throughthe wringing device by decreasing the wall thickness as the amount ofliner material increases through the wringing device, i.e., tocompensate for a larger amount of material (more square inches ofmaterial) passing through the wringing device the thickness of thematerial decreases to maintain a desired total amount or volume ofmaterial passing therethrough. The increase in material amount (moresquare inches) is a result of the geometry of the liner wherein morematerial is present within the wringing device as the middle portion ofthe liner passes through the wringing device compared to the corners orcorner adjacent areas of the liner passing through the wringing device,as shown in FIG. 15 and described in more detail hereinafter.

As shown in FIGS. 7-10, the wringing device may be mounted to a portablehand truck 80. The hand truck 80 is pushed into position engaging thecontainer, as seen in FIG. 7. A constant pull pulling or tensioningdevice 81 having a tensioning cable 82 is coupled to the chute 19 toprovide an even pull upon the chute as the liner contents are emptied,see FIGS. 8-9. Once the liner is emptied, the wringing device isremounted upon the hand truck 80, as shown in FIG. 10.

With reference next to the liner L itself, the liner has unique featureswhich enable it to be better utilized with a wringing device.

The liner L may include a gap-filler or filler strip 70 of foam materialextending upwardly from a position closely adjacent the outlet fitment.The filler strip may be a 1.2 pound/foot, closed cell polyethylenematerial, which acts to provide material volume when the liner is in acompressed or gathered condition passing through the device. The fillerstrip 70 is mounted, preferably by adhesive, to the front wall 12directly over and closely adjacent the outlet fitment 23. The fillerstrip 70 may taper along at least a majority of the strip's longitudinallength or height so as to increase its lateral width as it approachesthe outlet fitment 23 (extends from the top wall towards the bottomwall), thereby increasing the material volume of strip material.

The purpose of the filler strip 70 is to provide bulk or additionalmaterial volume to this portion of the liner so that the amount orvolume of material passing through the wringing device does notsignificantly decrease as the wringing device approaches the outletfitment 23 at the conclusion of the wringing process. A significantdecrease in material volume could cause the wringing device to slip uponthe liner and thereby prevent the liner from being pulled through thewringing device.

As shown in FIGS. 13-15, the liner L may also include a top fitment 78(inlet) which is positioned directly to the top wall 14 close to orclosely adjacent the rear wall 16 as opposed to the previous embodimentwherein the combination chute and fitment (inlet) is positioned closelyadjacent the rear wall. Here again, the purpose of the rearward locationof the fitment 78, or chute 74, is to improve the geometry of the linerand the resulting pulling through the wringing device.

As best shown in FIG. 15, with the fitment 20 in a central location the“run” or the length of material from the fitment 20 to the outletfitment 23 along the equatorial front side of the liner is length L1.This length L1 is much shorter than the run or length of material from acentrally mounted fitment 20 to the outlet fitment 23 along theequatorial backside of the liner represented by length L2. Thisdifference in lengths (L1 and L2) causes the front side of the liner tobe pulled through the wringing device long prior to the backside of theliner being pulled through. This results in excess material along thebackside of the liner not being pulled completely through the wringingdevice.

It has been discovered that by placing the fitment 78 or chute closelyadjacent the rear wall 16, and generally diagonally opposite the outletfitment 23, the new equatorial front run or length L3 is essentiallyequal to the new equatorial rear run or length L4 or at least muchcloser to being equivalent when compared to a centrally positioned topfitment (L1 and L2). The term diagonally opposite is intended to denotea position opposite from the outlet fitment diagonally across the volumeof the filled rectangular prism configuration of the liner, as showngenerally in FIG. 15. As the run lengths of material (L3 and L4) aregenerally equivalent, both lengths pass through and finish through thewringing device at essentially the same time, thereby providing a betterexpulsion of material from the liner.

It should be understood that the filling fitment 20, top fitment 78 andchute 19 or fitment/chute combination may all be considered to be aninlet, as used herein and specifically the claims. Furthermore, thefitments may be mounted to any wall so long as they are generallydiagonally opposite each other close to the corner or joinder of the topwall or bottom wall with a side wall. For example, the outlet fitmentmay be mounted to the bottom wall rather than the front wall, or to anyof the other side walls or end walls described herein so long as theinlet fitment is also mounted diagonally opposite therefrom.

It should also be understood that the outlet fitment 23 may be designedto include a thin layer of plastic or the like to seal the fitment. Theplastic seal may be perforated by the connector or hose configured tomate with the outlet fitment to allow the flow of contents from theline.

It should be understood that the liner body 23 may be of anyconventional construction, such as that shown in the preferredembodiment, a gusseted design, a pillow design, or a tapered designsometimes referred to in the industry as a bottleneck design.

It thus is seen that a liner design to allow for a device for extractingmaterial from inside a liner is now provided which overcomes problemsassociated with such devices of the prior art. While this invention hasbeen described in detail with particular references to the preferredembodiments thereof, it should be understood that many modifications,additions and deletions, in addition to those expressly recited, may bemade thereto without departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A liner for use with an intermediate bulk material container, saidliner comprising, a liner body having a top wall, a bottom wall, and afront wall, a rear wall opposite said front wall, and two oppositelydisposed end walls, said front wall, rear wall and end walls extendingbetween said top wall and said bottom wall; an outlet fitment coupled tosaid front wall closely adjacent said bottom wall and distally said topwall, and an inlet coupled to said top wall closely adjacent said rearwall and distally said front wall.
 2. The liner of claim 1 wherein saidinlet comprises a chute and a tubular fitment coupled to said chute. 3.The liner of claim 1 wherein said inlet comprises a tubular fitment. 4.A liner for use with an intermediate bulk material container, said linercomprising, a liner body having a liner volume defined by a top wall, abottom wall, and a tubular side wall extending between said top wall andsaid bottom wall; an outlet fitment coupled to said side wall closelyadjacent said bottom wall, and an inlet coupled to said top wallgenerally diagonally opposite said liner volume from said outletfitment.
 5. The liner of claim 4 wherein said inlet comprises a chuteand a tubular fitment coupled to said chute.
 6. The liner of claim 4wherein said inlet comprises a tubular fitment.
 7. A liner for use withan intermediate bulk material container, said liner comprising, a linerbody having plurality of walls including a top wall, a bottom wall, anda first side wall, a second side wall opposite said first side wall, athird side wall extending between said first side wall and said secondside wall, and a fourth side wall opposite said third side wall, saidfirst side wall, said second side wall, said third side wall and saidfourth side wall extending between said top wall and said bottom wall;an outlet fitment coupled to a first wall of said plurality of wallsclosely adjacent a joinder of said bottom wall with said first side wallof said plurality of walls, and an inlet coupled to a second wall ofsaid plurality of walls closely adjacent a joinder of said top wall withsaid second wall of said plurality of walls.
 8. The liner of claim 7wherein said inlet comprises a chute and a tubular fitment coupled tosaid chute.
 9. The liner of claim 7 wherein said inlet comprises atubular fitment.
 10. The liner of claim 7 wherein said first wall ofsaid plurality of walls is said first side wall.
 11. The liner of claim10 wherein said second wall of said plurality of walls is said top wall.